Dragons win a thriller over Lakeview

JEFFERSON - It had a little bit of everything. Excellent defense, clutch shooting, a dozen lead changes, and a packed Jefferson gym.

But in the end, Jefferson had Duran Rakestraw and Lakeview Academy had no answer for the senior guard as he willed the Dragons to a thrilling 66-61 win Friday night in the semifinals of the Region 8-A boys tournament.

The Class A fifth-ranked Dragons (21-5) will move on to play Tallulah Falls Saturday at 8:30 p.m. for the region title. Tallulah Falls beat Athens Academy 68-61 in the other semifinal.

Lakeview (16-9) will play Athens Academy at 5:30 p.m. Saturday for third place.

The turning point came when Jefferson coach Boling DuBose called a timeout with his team trailing 57-50 with just under five minutes left in the game.

"Coach gave me the look and I knew I was going to have to step up as a senior," Rakestraw said.

Boy, did he. He scored his team's final eight points, including hitting two free throws with just under 10 seconds left to ice the game.

"Duran had to pick it up for us at the end and he did. It was a game where both teams played hard. It was a lot fun," DuBose said.

Rakestraw finished with a game-high 28 points, 10 coming in the pivotal fourth quarter. Brandon Mosley added 21 points and 15 rebounds. Keonte Keith finished with just five points, but had 13 rebounds and nine assists filling in at point guard for the suspended Jarail Rakestraw.

"I thought Keonte gave us a chance by playing well out front and making good decisions," DuBose said. "He's played some there before but in this type of atmosphere. His play was a big factor for us."

Lakeview coach Seth Vining, whose Lions have lost in the region semifinals for three straight seasons, said Jefferson's size wore them down in the end.

"Mosley, Rakestraw and (Chis) Davis are so big it's a tough matchup for us. When they were able to get them all out there on the court together, we couldn't do much," Vining said.

"But, I thought our kids played a great game. They didn't get down when they had the bad start and fought all the way to the end."

Jefferson opened the game with a 14-0 run and it looked like it would be a long night for the Lions. Lakeview did not get its first basket until five minutes in the game but that sparked a 13-5 run over the last three minutes of the quarter to pull within 19-13.

But a 3-pointer by Don Crumley just moments into the second quarter pulled Lakeview to within 19-18 and the Lions outscored Jefferson 22-13 in the second quarter to take a 35-32 lead into halftime.

Lakeview maintained the lead and built it to 57-50 on a jumper by David Pruett. But rakestraw and Mosley got going and the Dragons finished the game with a 16-4 run.

"I thought we played with them," Vining said. "We made some mistakes that hurt us but this is a very young team and I thought they showed a lot of courage to come back and then get the lead."

Pruett finished with a team-high 17 points. Don Crumley added 16 and Deke Rochester had 12.

TALLULAF FALLS BOYS 68, ATHENS ACADEMY 61

Tallulah Falls used a 22-11 run in the second quarter to blow open a close game against the Spartans.

Bobby Purdue led Tallulah Falls with 24 points, 16 in the second half. Karim Kanu finished with 14 points, including a perfect 12-of-12 on free throws. Daniel Lampl added 12 points and Ariel Jones 10.

Brandon Edwards had a monster game pouring 25 points, 16 in the second half, to lead Athens Academy. Nick Farrara had 13 and Emilio Lebelo 11 for the Spartans.